The Electoral Commission has announced the dates for the second and final voter registration weekend ahead of the 2024 National and Provincial Elections.
The Electoral Commission announced that the Voter Registration Weekend will take place on 3 and 4 February 2024 to allow new voters to register and existing voters to inspect, and if necessary update their registration details.
The country’s 23 296 voting stations will open from 8am to 5pm on both days.
“Following the first registration weekend held on 18 and 19 November 2023, the voters’ roll contains 26.8 million voters with 568 374 of those registering for the first time during that period. The Electoral Commission is hopeful that the second registration weekend will build on and surpass the satisfactory turn out recorded in November,” the Commission said in a statement.
The Commission said South African citizens aged 16 years and older can register to vote, and all they need is a South African green barcoded identity document (ID) book, or smartcard ID, or a valid temporary ID certificate.
“When registering, voters will need to provide their address or a description of where they live to allow the Electoral Commission to place them on the correct segment of the voters’ roll. However, proof of an address is not a requirement to register as a voter,” the Commission explained.
The Electoral Commission has also confirmed that South Africans living abroad will have an opportunity to register at South Africa’s 120 high commissions, embassies and consulates on 26, 27 and 28 January 2024.
The Commission acknowledged and expressed its appreciation to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) for its continued collaboration in ensuring the sustained franchise of South Africans abroad.
A new and additional voter registration modality for South Africans living abroad has been introduced, where South Africans abroad may now register as voters using the online self-registration portal by visiting https://online.elections.org.za/voterportal and capturing their details and uploading a scanned image of their identity document.
General elections will be held in South Africa in 2024 to elect a new National Assembly, as well as the Provincial Legislature in each province. These will be the seventh elections held under democracy since the end of apartheid in 1994. The new National Council of Provinces will be elected at the first sitting of each Provincial Legislature.
Voter registration for inmates
Meanwhile, offenders at correctional centres will get an opportunity to register to vote, as voter registration will also be conducted at centres around the country to allow inmates to exercise their right to vote.
Working with the Department of Correctional Services, the Commission said it will undertake the registration of inmates at correctional centres between 30 January and 1 February 2024.
The Commission has requested the family members of incarcerated inmates to deliver their identity documents to them ahead of the registration drive.
“The Electoral Commission will be supporting the registration drive with the roll out of national communication and education campaign to encourage participation. The key thrust of the campaign will retain its youth focus and urging young, first-time voters to register,” the Commission said.
The Electoral Commission’s contact centre continues to be operational to assist citizens with queries and information about the registration process and information related to the location of voting stations. The contact centre can be reached on 0800 11 8000 from 8am to 5pm weekdays.
“The online voter registration portal remains available until the date of proclamation of the elections for first-time voters to register and for those who are already registered to update their registration details.
“Registered voters can visit the Electoral Commission website (www.elections.org.za) to check their current registration details and voting station location. They can also SMS their ID number to 32810 to receive an SMS containing the address of their voting station (charged at R1),” the Commission said.
The Electoral Commission has also appealed to all stakeholders, including expatriate communities, political parties, aspirant independent candidates, government departments and entities, the media and civil society organisations, including labour, business, NGOs, religious-based organisations, traditional leaders and all community organisations to support the registration drive and encourage voter registration ahead of the elections. – SAnews.gov.za
